LIV Golf Reportedly Fears Losing Jon Rahm After Major 2027 Development

Jon Rahm joined LIV Golf in December 2023 in a deal reported to be between $300 to $600 million.

LIV Golf Reportedly Fears Losing Jon Rahm After Major 2027 Development

Jon Rahm (Image via Imago)

As LIV Golf gets ready to enter a new era, it might lose out on one of its top players, Jon Rahm. According to reports from The Telegraph, there is a fear among the breakaway tour officials that the Spaniard could be on his way out of the league.

Last week, CEO Scott O’Neil released a statement regarding their future. The former NHL and NBA executive revealed that the league had secured a new lead investor. The financial aid from them will help LIV Golf get through the 2027 season.

In 2027, LIV Golf 2.0 will feature 10 events (5 team majors and 5 team signature events) around the globe and a few in the United States. The players, meanwhile, will become majority equity holders.

Amidst this, there are talks of Rahm potentially leaving them. The former World No.1 joined the league in a shocking move in December 2023. This move by him came a few months after LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan came together and announced a merger deal between the two tours.

As per James Corrigan of The Telegraph, the 2-time major champion is said to make a final decision regarding his future in the upcoming weeks. The DP World Tour has also been informed about Rahm’s intentions.

Earlier this year, Rahm did have the chance to leave LIV Golf. Following the shocking return of Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour, Rahm, alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, had an option to return through the PGA Tour Returning Member Program.

As per this, a player who had won either The Players Championship or any one of the four majors since 2022 and was away for 2 years could return. Rahm matched the criteria due to his Masters Tournament victory in April 2023.

A return to the PGA Tour now could be difficult. The 31-year-old is also reported to be due a nine-figure payment from LIV Golf. While the Public Investment Fund (PIF) could pay this off, he could receive the debt as equity in LIV Golf 2.0.

Another thing that is a concern for Rahm is the DP World Tour’s move regarding conditional releases. As per Gabby Herzig of The Athletic, they have started to inform players that the conditional releases will end this year and heavy fines will be reintroduced.

Earlier this year, a few LIV golfers were granted conditional releases, which allowed them to play in LIV events while maintaining their status on the DP World Tour. Rahm, who was initially against it, ended up agreeing to this release as well after settling some backlogs of fines in May.

For European LIV golfers, maintaining DP World Tour membership is crucial. Without this, they are not eligible for the Ryder Cup. This could force Rahm to make a tough decision regarding his future.

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Jon Rahm recently claimed his 3rd straight LIV Golf Individual Championship

Golf fans were left stunned in December 2023 when Jon Rahm left the PGA Tour and joined LIV Golf. Fast forward to August 2026, and he has been the LIV Golf Individual champion 3 times.

Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm (Image via Imago)

Last week at the LIV Golf New York Event, he completed a three-peat of the individual championship despite a T41 finish. His two wins earlier this year, along with 4 runners-up finishes, saw him end the season with 944 points, 218 ahead of Bryson DeChambeau.

Rahm has won the individual title in each of his 3 seasons in the league. Overall, he has 4 wins and several top-10 finishes. In short, he has been dominant from the start.

As for the majors, he has played in 11 of them since his move to LIV and missed the cut just twice. In 4 of them, he finished in the top-10. However, the only time he was in proper contention was the 2026 PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 2nd along with Alex Smalley, 3 shots behind winner Aaron Rai.

The big question now on everyone’s mind is: what will he decide? A return to the PGA Tour could not be as easy as Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed had. If he remains on LIV with no conditional releases, he could lose his DP World Tour membership as well. Only time will tell which path he chooses next for his career.

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